Providing quality recreation experiences in Japan

This paper uses a choice experiment to evaluate the benefits to trekkers of the natural environment and the provision of appropriate recreation experiences in the Uryu-numa Mire, northern Japan. The result, applying a conditional logit model, shows that restoration of the natural environment are positively valued by trekkers, and their respective willingness to pay for one percentage point improvement are JPY 32.6 and 59.6. Likewise, provision of appropriate recreation experiences, setting a limit on the number of trekkers a day, is also positively valued. The results indicate that the optimal number of trekkers is 458, and the willingness to pay for controlling the number of trekkers from 800 to 458 is JPY 1,457. In Japan, importance of the quality of recreation experiences is not well recognized by park managers. However, our results indicate that both restoring the environment and providing excellent recreation experiences are significant challenges for recreation areas.

Foreign Ownership, Listed Status and the Financial System in East Asia: Evidence from Thailand and Malaysia

Existing studies on the financial system in East Asia have emphasized its excessive debt financing, the lack of a bond market and its limited function on corporate governance. Other apparent facts, such as the average low debt ratio, the existence of large but unlisted firms, and the significance of foreign firms in its economy are generally ignored. Based on a uniquely compiled database for the top 1000 firms in Thailand and Malaysia, we examined the distributional feature of listed status and foreign ownership, and then re-estimated the determinants of the capital structures. We confirmed basic facts, such as the fact that unlisted firms occupy a large portion in the distribution, and that the debt financing of major firms is relatively inactive. We also found the significance of foreign ownership and its negative relationship with debt financing and ‘going public’. Finally, we found that certain kinds of foreign firms tend to keep large retained earnings and non-bank debt, suggesting their deep reliance on self-financing and internal capital markets. The characteristics of corporate finance in East Asia can be explained in part by distributional features on listing status and foreign ownership. Our findings raised questions about the conventional view of the current policy framework which emphasized on the shift from financial intermediation to the capital and bond markets.Financial System, Corporate Finance, East Asia, FDI

Impact of Foreign Entry in Banking Sector: Case of Thailand during 1999 - 2014

The paper examines the effect of foreign capital entry on the cost and profit structure of commercial banking in Thailand with using a bank-level panel data in 1999 - 2014. We distinguish the dimensions of the market-level effect and the individual bank-level effect in foreign entry and find that an increase of bank-level foreign ownership results in increase of interest rate spread and improvement of loan quality, but at the same time, increase of operational expenses. On the other hand, the market-level foreign bank entry brings an increase of interest rate spread, non-interest income and reduce of operation expenses, realizing higher ROA as a result. Overall, foreign bank entry improves banking performance

Trade, Foreign Investment and Myanmar\u27s Economic Development during the Transition to an Open Economy

Throughout the 1990s and up to 2005, the adoption of an open-door policy substantially increased the volume of Myanmar\u27s external trade. Imports grew more rapidly than exports in the 1990s owing to the release of pent-up consumer demand during the transition to a market economy. Accordingly, trade deficits expanded. Confronted by a shortage of foreign currency, the government after the late 1990s resorted to rigid controls over the private sector\u27s trade activities. Despite this tightening of policy, Myanmar\u27s external sector has improved since 2000 largely because of the emergence of new export commodities, namely garments and natural gas. Foreign direct investments in Myanmar significantly contributed to the exploration and development of new gas fields. As trade volume grew, Myanmar strengthened its trade relations with neighboring countries such as China, Thailand and India. Although the development of external trade and foreign investment inflows exerted a considerable impact on the Myanmar economy, the external sector has not yet begun to function as a vigorous engine for broad-based and sustainable development

The Value of Soil Sampling and Sampling Density: Conceptual Framework (Part 1)

When considering variable-rate nitrogen or seed application, soil sampling can provide farmers and their consultants with valuable information about the spatial distributions of soil properties such as organic matter, micro- and macro-nutrients, and pH. Conceptually, that information may be especially valuable for site-specific input management. But just as farmers make decisions about input applications, they also must make decisions about soil sampling, and in particular, must choose soil sampling density. It is standard practice for U.S. corn and soybean farmers to take soil samples on their fields every three or four years at a density of one sample per 2.5 acres. But whether that 2.5-acre density is economically optimal, and how the optimal density might change under different field and weather situations is largely unknown. Some producers choose one sample per acre and others choose one sample per ten acres. This article aims to present an analytical microeconomic framework to help non-economists systematically address these economic questions

Production and Properties of Carbon Nanotube/Cellulose Composite Paper

Multiwalled carbon nanotube/cellulose composite papers have been prepared by mixing the cellulose with MWNT/gelatin solution and drying at room temperature. The CNTs form an interconnected network on the cellulose paper and as a result CNT paper sheet exhibits enhanced electrical properties and thermal stabilities. It is found that both sides of CNT paper sheet have the uniform electrical conductivities. The sheet exhibits strong microwave absorption in the microwave range of 10.5 GHz. The CNT/cellulose paper is as flexible and mechanically tough as the pure cellulose paper. This work provides a novel and simple pathway to make CNT/cellulose sheet as multifunctional biomaterials for electronic, magnetic, semiconducting, and biotechnological applications

Safer Production of Water Dispersible Carbon Nanotubes and Nanotube/Cotton Composite Materials

Water-dispersible carbon nanotubes (WD-CNTs) have great importance in the fields of biotechnology, microelectronics, and composite materials. Sidewall functionalization is a popular method of enhancing their dispersibility in a solvent, which is usually achieved by strong acidic treatment. But, treatment under such harsh conditions deviates from green chemistry and degrades the structure and valuable properties of CNTs. Alternative safer and easier plasma method is discussed to produce functionalized CNTs (f-CNTs). The f-CNTs remain dispersed in water for more than 1 month owing to the attachment of a large number of carboxyl groups onto their surfaces. The WD-CNTs are applied to produce conductive cotton textile for the next generation textile technologies. Nonconducting cotton textile becomes electroconductive by repeatedly dipping into the f-CNT-ink and drying in air. The f-CNTs uniformly and strongly cover the individual cotton fibers. After several cycle of dipping into the f-CNT-ink, the textile becomes conductive enough to be used as wire in lighting up an LED. As a demonstration of practical use, the textile is shown as a conductive textile heater, where the textile can produce uniformly up to ca. 80°C within ca. 5 min by applying an electric power of ca. 0.1 W/cm2